Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
The second strophe. The consolation which the pious have in God's inexhaustible mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, and loving-kindness.
Thy mercy ... the heavens - rising far above the haughty impiety of the wicked, who try, like the Babel-builders, to raise the edifice of their pride to "reach unto heaven" (Genesis 11:4; Psalms 73:9: cf. Psalms 57:10). Like the divine pillar of cloud and fire, the goodness of Yahweh so rises aloft above the earth as to be "in the heavens." God's goodness and faithfulness to His people are infinitely above the reach of human malice to counteract. Therefore the Lord's people are inviolably safe, in spite of all the arrogant, restless, and God-despising enmity of their foes.